Enough with the Sponsored Content. (5/6 Latest LTT Videos are sponsored)

[lambrosgg]

3 hours ago, LinusTech said:

We agree. We ended up with a bit of a log jam of sponsored content this week. It wasn't our goal and we are going to try to avoid this kind of thing in the future. 

 

Sometimes sponsor opportunities are easy to space out, and other times embargoes - which in this case ended up being moved right on top of each other - make it difficult. 

 

So there's another sponsored video coming on the 23rd (but that day is getting two uploads so I'm not counting it) and then the next one is on June 2 (but it's one people have been asking me to do for quite a while - workflow update) 

 

Hope this helps. As always we appreciate your feedback and will keep trying to do better. 

 

Thanks for replying. I was (almost) certain that it was a coincidence about the latest videos, but how about the not-so-near future? The duration of sponsor clips inside videos AND the sponsored content gradually increased over the years. Any commitment about limiting the ratio of normal/sponsored content?

 

What you try to justify as "extra" content, is still content. It still pops up on subscribers boxes, "Sponsored" isn't always on the title, so I will click it, I will watch the ad-sense ad for it.

 

PLEASE don't turn LTT into another giant ad channel (e.g. Unbox Therapy).

I know its like asking Apple not to "Apple" and you can both reply by showing me the increasing numbers of viewership and follower-ship, meaning you do things "right", but could it just be the increasing number of people using the internet/technology? Could those numbers be even greater with better content? I know we are way past the outdoor reviews of "every-motherboard-released-this-year" but I am sure there is still audience for the good old LTT videos. With Linus willing to make an educational or entertaining video, no matter how low quality production, ghetto, or ridiculous it was going to be, driven by his passion for technology and not profit (member whole room water cooling?)

I respect that you try to make the sponsored content videos interesting and "crazy LTT style" but when you are limited to a specific product and have an embargo timeline its hard to be creative and 9/10 of the times it just ends up as see-through, labored and cringy "craziness"

 

For example the Intel Optane (cache and standalone SSD versions). You were harsh on their reviews (thankfully) but 7 total videos were released about it. 2 on Techquickie as presentation and setup guide (still indirect ad IMO) and 5 on LTT. 2 reviews, 2 previews and 1 ridiculous use-case scenario that "could make you want it" plus some appearances in other videos. Its obvious that Intel is pushing sponsorship for it because it sold only 8 units in 3 months (personal estimation) but how many videos until you tell them "just let it die already" and find another sponsorship? Trying to squeeze more Optane content out of nowhere just for sponsorship hurts the credibility and image of the channel more than whatever Intel is paying you.

 

I subscribed to LTT because there was nothing else even close to what you were offering on YouTube and I am sure most of your subscribers are here because of that uniqueness. Nowadays I will just LISTEN TO your videos while I am doing the dishes, just to have something on the background and not get bored. Make videos like the old days, when I would pay my FULL ATTENTION to it because I knew I would learn something or at least be entertained. Make videos that people will go back after years and still enjoy.

If you have to put sponsorship(s) inside the videos, do it subtly not taking up almost half of the video's duration. If you need to upload sponsored content limit it to 1-2 videos per week and do it for products that you actually BELIEVE IN and will make an interesting video, even if its not about technology. You are LTT, I am sure you have many companies begging to be sponsored. Its time you started being picky about them. Sorry for the long reply but man.... My heart is breaking.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

6 minutes ago, lambrosgg said:

PLEASE don't turn LTT into another giant ad channel (e.g. Unbox Therapy).

I think there's no need to worry about. A lot of what they do is so janky, (which is also what many viewers complained about, such consistency eh?), that it's more like product placement than a giant ad for a sponsor. 

[Jtalk4456]

2 hours ago, LAwLz said:

-snip

 

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This is false. Loot boxes are taken into account when doing the financial analysis of developing a game, often used as a source of revenue to fund future development of the game (or game series).

If you believe loot boxes are just 100% profit that goes straight into some exec or shareholders pockets then you have a great misunderstanding of the industry.

 

I didn't mean it to say it's not part of their revenue, but rather that the game can exist without it. If you forget to program lootboxes, you just make less money, If you forget to code the actual gameplay, you won't sell games. The lootbox has nothing to do with the game itself, but it's thrown in as an extra revenue source PAST paying for the game.

Well it depends.

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The video is the product. If the sponsorship is part of the video then yes, the sponsorship is the product (hence why I say LTT is an ad channel). However, the money LTT gets from the sponsorship is not part of the product. The sponsorship itself, as in the contract or the actual exchange of money/services is not part of the final product that is the video. It is merely the thing that funds LTT.

The money pays for the video and employees, so i'd argue it is part of the product

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Think of it like this, when you buy a ticket for Avengers, would you say the product you're buying is the experience the movie provides, or is the product you're paying for the piece of paper that allows you to enter the cinema?

Marvel isn't a company that makes tickets. They make movies.

LMG isn't a company that makes sponsorships. They make videos.

 

Marvel doesn't make tickets, but it needs tickets to sell it's movies

Who exactly are you agreeing with? I certainly never said anything of that nature, and I strongly disagree with it. I haven't seen anyone mention anything even remotely similar to it either.

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I think it is entirely possible to have a proper review channel that isn't just pumping out ads. Just because LTT ended up like an ad company doesn't mean others can't succeed in becoming a review channel.

I was referring to you calling them an ad channel, though I may have taken it out of the context of what you meant

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I think it is astonishing that you believe Linus is objective. I'd say he is anything but. Most of the videos I have seen (which I should add aren't that many in recent years) seems to be very, very subjective and comprise mostly of him giving his opinion on things.

OK I worded that badly. Obj vs subj wasn't what i should have said. I think Linus tends to give negative points to products that are sponsoring him more than other youtubers, who like i said just put up a 1 or 2 minute read off of specs without saying their own thoughts, good or bad. 

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You sure about that? There have been several times where Linus has avoided saying negative things. I mean, did he ever acknowledge that Dollar Shave Club are just selling rebranded Dorco razors which you can buy for cheaper on Amazon? And if he did acknowledge it, how long did that take him?

I heard about that, but they don't appear to be cheaper on Amazon. They're the same price as far as I can tell, plus the DSC comes with extra stuff in the box (not that it's needed, but still) 

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He seems to be very firmly in the camp which believes saying a few positive and a few negative things is how you are unbiased, which is not the case at all.

I'm not saying he is unbiased, I'm saying he's willing to say what he doesn't like, even if the video is sponsored. Other channels get a sponsored item and just read off the marketing material in a happy voice. Linus goes off on his own and tests things in a situation he would use it for and tells us how it works and what he has complaints about. I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's certainly better than some youtubers with sponsored content

[Mr.Humble]

5 hours ago, Pangea2017 said:

$3/month per channel. This summs up to a lot (≈$45+Netflix (10.99)+Spotify (9.99)≈ $65 per month).

$3/month/CREATOR

you don't pay separately for LTT, Techquickie and Techlinked.

[Murasaki]

is this really something to be concerned about? odd planet

[Lethal Seraph]

I don't see the big problem. It's business after all.

[Teddy07]

1 minute ago, Lethal Seraph said:

I don't see the big problem. It's business after all.

Me too. Everyone can decide to watch the videos or not. I decided not to watch them any longer.

[LinusTech]

2 hours ago, lambrosgg said:

 

Thanks for replying. I was (almost) certain that it was a coincidence about the latest videos, but how about the not-so-near future? The duration of sponsor clips inside videos AND the sponsored content gradually increased over the years. Any commitment about limiting the ratio of normal/sponsored content?

 

What you try to justify as "extra" content, is still content. It still pops up on subscribers boxes, "Sponsored" isn't always on the title, so I will click it, I will watch the ad-sense ad for it.

 

PLEASE don't turn LTT into another giant ad channel (e.g. Unbox Therapy).

I know its like asking Apple not to "Apple" and you can both reply by showing me the increasing numbers of viewership and follower-ship, meaning you do things "right", but could it just be the increasing number of people using the internet/technology? Could those numbers be even greater with better content? I know we are way past the outdoor reviews of "every-motherboard-released-this-year" but I am sure there is still audience for the good old LTT videos. With Linus willing to make an educational or entertaining video, no matter how low quality production, ghetto, or ridiculous it was going to be, driven by his passion for technology and not profit (member whole room water cooling?)

I respect that you try to make the sponsored content videos interesting and "crazy LTT style" but when you are limited to a specific product and have an embargo timeline its hard to be creative and 9/10 of the times it just ends up as see-through, labored and cringy "craziness"

 

For example the Intel Optane (cache and standalone SSD versions). You were harsh on their reviews (thankfully) but 7 total videos were released about it. 2 on Techquickie as presentation and setup guide (still indirect ad IMO) and 5 on LTT. 2 reviews, 2 previews and 1 ridiculous use-case scenario that "could make you want it" plus some appearances in other videos. Its obvious that Intel is pushing sponsorship for it because it sold only 8 units in 3 months (personal estimation) but how many videos until you tell them "just let it die already" and find another sponsorship? Trying to squeeze more Optane content out of nowhere just for sponsorship hurts the credibility and image of the channel more than whatever Intel is paying you.

 

I subscribed to LTT because there was nothing else even close to what you were offering on YouTube and I am sure most of your subscribers are here because of that uniqueness. Nowadays I will just LISTEN TO your videos while I am doing the dishes, just to have something on the background and not get bored. Make videos like the old days, when I would pay my FULL ATTENTION to it because I knew I would learn something or at least be entertained. Make videos that people will go back after years and still enjoy.

If you have to put sponsorship(s) inside the videos, do it subtly not taking up almost half of the video's duration. If you need to upload sponsored content limit it to 1-2 videos per week and do it for products that you actually BELIEVE IN and will make an interesting video, even if its not about technology. You are LTT, I am sure you have many companies begging to be sponsored. Its time you started being picky about them. Sorry for the long reply but man.... My heart is breaking.

I'm not going to make a specific commitment wrt a sponsored content ratio because I don't want to paint myself into a corner, but I will say that we're acutely aware of the problem with the approach we took this week and we will strive to not overdo it to this extent again. 

 

You're correct that sponsorship duration has increased over the years. The business model has also changed a lot. For the first year, Luke, Edzel and Brandon were making a similar hourly rate to what I made in high school. The goal was to run everything as lean as possible and it wasn't sustainable.

 

I have often wondered what our channel growth trajectory might have looked like if we had stayed more organic rather than heavily monetizing the normal content and participating in sponsored videos, but it's hard to say. Sometimes the sponsored videos have definitely slowed our growth, while other times they've accelerated it. I think content like the OnePlus tour (cringey title notwithstanding) is truly head and shoulders above anything we can produce in our studio without a manufacturer's buy-in.. and OnePlus was really cool to work with. They actually asked for zero revisions to my script when I was done. It was a great experience and I was thrilled to share it with our community.

 

The other thing that monetizing the content has done is allow us to grow. This might not mean much to you guys, but my work-life balance (when I'm not traveling, which it feels like I've been doing constantly these days...) is much better than it was for the first 4 years of LMG. I used to regularly work 70-80 hours a week.. especially when I was still writing all of the Tech Quickie scripts (those are someone else's basically full time job now). And it has also allowed us to make strategic investments that affect that same metric for our staff. Taran very rarely has to work an unreasonably long day when there were times in the past that our staffing levels forced him to do it much more regularly than I was comfortable with. And we even have some more to spare for projects that (its seems) have made the community really happy, like bringing back Riley and rapid-fire daily tech news.

 

Say what you will about your enjoyment-level, but we DO put the work and resources back into the content, and I think that's where the growth has come from that replaces the people we've lost along the path for other reasons.

 

Part of the unwillingness to make "crazy videos" is that there just isn't as much out there anymore. What would you have us do? Motherboards, power supplies, CPUs.. these things haven't fundamentally changed in the last 5 years (other than RGB), so to do it "bigger and better" is really time-consuming and expensive. Which isn't to say we aren't still trying! That's why I hired the writers. Here, in no particular order are some big, crazy projects that (sponsored or not) we undertook with their help:

 

 

 

As for Optane, I have no problem with the follow up videos we've done on it. Two of them - using it to accelerate a large STEAM library, and trying to use it in place of RAM - were things we were going to do anyway. It's nice when the stars align and we can get a sponsor for something we already wanted to test. Maybe the talking points end up a little more "Intel-ey" in those cases, but the test results and conclusion are real. We would never fabricate something like that. Optane is good tech even if your particular use case doesn't benefit from it. It's not going anywhere and it'll continue to get cooler.

 

Please don't be heart-broken.. and also remember that even going back 5 years not everyone liked the video we uploaded every day. Lots of other creators (to their benefit.. it really helps channel growth a LOT) try to stick to fairly similar content day-in, day-out because they know that's what their audience loves.. but we have ALWAYS been a little more ADD in our approach, uploading a video about hooking a giant radiator up to your gaming PC followed by one about limiting how much you charge your phone, and then checking out a commercial 3D building scanner.. <- none of these have anything to do with each other and we like it that way..

 

So not every upload is going to be for every viewer, but since we're more of a "variety show" anyway, we still think there'll be plenty to enjoy going forward.

[LAwLz]

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I didn't mean it to say it's not part of their revenue, but rather that the game can exist without it. If you forget to program lootboxes, you just make less money, If you forget to code the actual gameplay, you won't sell games. The lootbox has nothing to do with the game itself, but it's thrown in as an extra revenue source PAST paying for the game.

You mean, just like the ads and sponsorships in LTT videos?

The videos could exist without them, but LTT choose to accept money for it. I am not saying there is anything inherently bad with that (in moderation), but you seem pretty hell bent on demonizing loot boxes for some unknown reason, while being completely accepting of sponsorships, product placements and ads.

 

Both of them serve the same purpose (generate more money for the company) and both have the same effect on the consumers (the quality of the content drops).

 

 

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

The money pays for the video and employees, so i'd argue it is part of the product

Ehm... What exactly do you think companies like EA do with the money they earn from loot boxes?

They don't exactly put it in piles Scrooge McDuck style.

I get where you're coming from. The game is already made so which do they need to monetize it more? Well by that logic, why charge for the game at all? The game is already made, so clearly they don't need money to develop it, right? Well, the money earned from the game sales, as well as things such as loot boxes, go into developing new content or new games.

Battlefield 5 is not funded with the money they will make from sales of Battlefield 5. It is funded by the money they made from Battlefront 2 (including the loot boxes) as well as other sales they made earlier.

The money made from loot boxes is no different from the money made from the sales of the game itself.

 

 

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

Marvel doesn't make tickets, but it needs tickets to sell it's movies

Who exactly are you agreeing with? I certainly never said anything of that nature, and I strongly disagree with it. I haven't seen anyone mention anything even remotely similar to it either.

Are you trying to copy me now?

 

What you said was that in sponsored videos, the content is the video and the sponsorship. I think you're wrong.

The video is the content. The sponsorship is not something that appears in the video. The video might have been made possible by sponsorships, but the sponsorship (the exchange of money or services from a company, to LMG) is something that happened outside the video and in general the video could (and chances are, would) have been made regardless.

 

Let me make another example since the ticket one seems to have been confusing.

The Shape of Water was filmed in Canada. Part of the reason why was because in Canada there are very large tax breaks for film and video productions.

 

Now, would you say that The Shape of Water is the product created by the director Guillermo del Toro, or would you say the product is the movie in addition to the Canadian tab break? I would say the movie is the product, and it is what people pay to see. When they announced the Oscars did they say: "And the Oscar goes to, the shape of water" or did they say "and the Oscar goes to, The Shape of Water and the Canadian film production services tax credits!"

 

 

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I was referring to you calling them an ad channel, though I may have taken it out of the context of what you meant

Yes, LTT is an ad channel. I never said all reviewers end up as ad channels though. You didn't really take anything out of context as much as you put words in my mouth and then said you agreed with them.

 

Me: LTT is an ad channel.

You: I agree with you that all review channels end up as ad channels.

 

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

OK I worded that badly. Obj vs subj wasn't what i should have said. I think Linus tends to give negative points to products that are sponsoring him more than other youtubers, who like i said just put up a 1 or 2 minute read off of specs without saying their own thoughts, good or bad. 

I think you got "objective" and "unbiased" mixed up.

That "reading off specs without saying their own thoughts" is what being objective is. Those people are objective.

Giving negative points does not mean you are unbiased though. I made a post about it before:

On 5/13/2018 at 12:09 AM, LAwLz said:

This is a common misconception that I see all the time these days.

It is not unbiased to "point out strong and weak points of all camps". Being unbiased means that you do not care about the camps at all.

Being unbiased means saying "this product is complete trash and you should get this other one instead", if that is the truth.

-snip-

At the end of the day, being unbiased is not about counting and making sure you give an equal amount of punches to both companies. Being unbiased means that you give relevant information and completely ignore which brands the products has. As soon as you go "I  need to mention something good about Intel, since I said something good about AMD" (or vice versa) then you are not being unbiased.

 

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I heard about that, but they don't appear to be cheaper on Amazon. They're the same price as far as I can tell, plus the DSC comes with extra stuff in the box (not that it's needed, but still) 

No, it's more expensive.

It's 2.25 dollars vs 1.92 dollars on Amazon per cartridge.

Not a massive difference, but why pay ~18 dollars more a year than you need?

 

Also, I want you to sit down and think for a little while. Are you by any chance defending DSC because they are sponsoring Linus? Remember that the only reason Linus talks about them is because he gets paid to talk about them.

 

 

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I'm not saying he is unbiased, I'm saying he's willing to say what he doesn't like, even if the video is sponsored. Other channels get a sponsored item and just read off the marketing material in a happy voice. Linus goes off on his own and tests things in a situation he would use it for and tells us how it works and what he has complaints about. I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's certainly better than some youtubers with sponsored content

Well... To be brutally honest I find 9/10 tech youtubers to be moronic shills that knows little more than just whatever you can read on a product box, so saying that Linus is better than them don't mean much to me.

Also, you are making a big assumption that Linus isn't holding back things, or saying things he was asked to say. Like I said before, I don't really watch his videos anymore but back when I did I found a lot of the things he said were things mentioned in the reviewer's guide (which is marketing material companies send to reviewers, giving them "tips" on what to bring up). Obviously he didn't read it line by line (neither does any big reviewer), but it's not like he strayed away from it either.

[Jtalk4456]

40 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

You mean, just like the ads and sponsorships in LTT videos?

The videos could exist without them, but LTT choose to accept money for it. I am not saying there is anything inherently bad with that (in moderation), but you seem pretty hell bent on demonizing loot boxes for some unknown reason, while being completely accepting of sponsorships, product placements and ads.

I would personally view the sponsorships as part of the product since the product being sponsored is the point of his sponsored video, but i see where you're coming from too. We'll have to agree to disagree on that one

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Both of them serve the same purpose (generate more money for the company) and both have the same effect on the consumers (the quality of the content drops).

VS lootboxes where the lootbox has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline or the character or anything 

Quote

 

Ehm... What exactly do you think companies like EA do with the money they earn from loot boxes?

They don't exactly put it in piles Scrooge McDuck style.

 

Fair Enough

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Are you trying to copy me now?

No I just copied and pasted and forgot to remove that part that you wrote, my bad

Quote

 

Let me make another example since the ticket one seems to have been confusing.

The Shape of Water was filmed in Canada. Part of the reason why was because in Canada there are very large tax breaks for film and video productions.

Now, would you say that The Shape of Water is the product created by the director Guillermo del Toro, or would you say the product is the movie in addition to the Canadian tab break? I would say the movie is the product, and it is what people pay to see. When they announced the Oscars did they say: "And the Oscar goes to, the shape of water" or did they say "and the Oscar goes to, The Shape of Water and the Canadian film production services tax credits!"

 

I don't quite agree that the tax break example translates since the tax break is not shown or mentioned in the movie as it doesn't relate to the movie plot. the sponsored content is usually the whole "plot". But I digress, we'll just agree to disagree on that

Quote

 

Me: LTT is an ad channel.

You: I agree with you that all review channels end up as ad channels.

 

Yeah I said that all wrong, sorry

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Giving negative points does not mean you are unbiased though.

I agree with you there, but I also don't think saying just the marketing material good stuff is unbiased either. Linus isn't unbiased by any means, but I think he's less biased then some.

Quote

 

Not a massive difference, but why pay ~18 dollars more a year than you need?

Also, I want you to sit down and think for a little while. Are you by any chance defending DSC because they are sponsoring Linus? Remember that the only reason Linus talks about them is because he gets paid to talk about them.

 

Fair enough on the price, as for me defending, not really, they just looked about the same price at first glance. While thie razors might be spending more money for off brand, is this the same for their shaving butter? Cuz that stuff is the main reason I like DSC, the stuff is amazing. Also not gonna lie I enjoy the little bathroom newspapers they send. 

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Well... To be brutally honest I find 9/10 tech youtubers to be moronic shills that knows little more than just whatever you can read on a product box, so saying that Linus is better than them don't mean much to me.

Fair enough for sure. I watch a few tech youtubers just to get the base content of what is coming out, but I don't really take more than the raw data to heart. I will admit that because he puts more subjective points of view in there, I tend to take more of his video to heart than others, but I still make my own decisions and don't blindly follow anyone

 

[lambrosgg]

3 hours ago, LinusTech said:

I'm not going to make a specific commitment wrt a sponsored content ratio because I don't want to paint myself into a corner, but I will say that we're acutely aware of the problem with the approach we took this week and we will strive to not overdo it to this extent again. 

 

You're correct that sponsorship duration has increased over the years. The business model has also changed a lot. For the first year, Luke, Edzel and Brandon were making a similar hourly rate to what I made in high school. The goal was to run everything as lean as possible and it wasn't sustainable.

 

I have often wondered what our channel growth trajectory might have looked like if we had stayed more organic rather than heavily monetizing the normal content and participating in sponsored videos, but it's hard to say. Sometimes the sponsored videos have definitely slowed our growth, while other times they've accelerated it. I think content like the OnePlus tour (cringey title notwithstanding) is truly head and shoulders above anything we can produce in our studio without a manufacturer's buy-in.. and OnePlus was really cool to work with. They actually asked for zero revisions to my script when I was done. It was a great experience and I was thrilled to share it with our community.

 

The other thing that monetizing the content has done is allow us to grow. This might not mean much to you guys, but my work-life balance (when I'm not traveling, which it feels like I've been doing constantly these days...) is much better than it was for the first 4 years of LMG. I used to regularly work 70-80 hours a week.. especially when I was still writing all of the Tech Quickie scripts (those are someone else's basically full time job now). And it has also allowed us to make strategic investments that affect that same metric for our staff. Taran very rarely has to work an unreasonably long day when there were times in the past that our staffing levels forced him to do it much more regularly than I was comfortable with. And we even have some more to spare for projects that (its seems) have made the community really happy, like bringing back Riley and rapid-fire daily tech news.

 

Say what you will about your enjoyment-level, but we DO put the work and resources back into the content, and I think that's where the growth has come from that replaces the people we've lost along the path for other reasons.

 

Part of the unwillingness to make "crazy videos" is that there just isn't as much out there anymore. What would you have us do? Motherboards, power supplies, CPUs.. these things haven't fundamentally changed in the last 5 years (other than RGB), so to do it "bigger and better" is really time-consuming and expensive. Which isn't to say we aren't still trying! That's why I hired the writers.

 

Please don't be heart-broken.. and also remember that even going back 5 years not everyone liked the video we uploaded every day. Lots of other creators (to their benefit.. it really helps channel growth a LOT) try to stick to fairly similar content day-in, day-out because they know that's what their audience loves.. but we have ALWAYS been a little more ADD in our approach, uploading a video about hooking a giant radiator up to your gaming PC followed by one about limiting how much you charge your phone, and then checking out a commercial 3D building scanner.. <- none of these have anything to do with each other and we like it that way..

 

So not every upload is going to be for every viewer, but since we're more of a "variety show" anyway, we still think there'll be plenty to enjoy going forward.

What is missing from the old videos and I failed (miserably) to explain, is not the actual "craziness" but in a more correct word, the "charm". Yes it was a shitty-shaky camera video, bad lighting, bad sound, barely edited, but watching it made you feel  fulfilled and safe. Fulfilled because you learned something or had fun and safety because you didn't doubt for a second that what you are watching is true and honest. When watching most LTT videos lately I feel confused instead. I am thinking "did Linus really wanted to give a positive review of the OnePlus 6 or did he have to because of all the sponsored content by OnePlus before?" "Is Linus really having fun doing this crazy thing or is he just pretending because he HAD to make a sponsored video?" "Do I need an ifixit kit or an LTT shirt in my life to be happy?" I know you already addressed these "accusations" on the "How does LMG make money" video but it made no difference to me. I believed you were unbiased before that, and i still believe it. But 

as the sponsored content increases, it gets harder and harder not to make these thoughts.

 

When thumbnails changed and clickbait titles appeared I said "its ok. Money needs to be made, new viewers always needed" When sponsored content started to appear and became more regular as time went by, I said "its ok. Money needs to be made, at least he is saying its sponsored" but the amount of ads is currently at peak. The 5/6 thing just made me post this, because I expected to see a topic here already, but I didn't.  I know people are "durable" against ads and always seem to be able to take "just a little more" but there is a limit to the amount of ads a person can take and not feel like a victim. It worries me that you don't want to make any commitment but I will keep my fingers crossed for 1-2 sponsored videos per week.

 

I understand that things can't be like the old days when you have so many employers depending on you for a living and yes, Τhe stress and the agony you have to please everyone (viewers, sponsors, employees) shows in your face and your voice. Watch older videos. You were like a hippy with not a care in the world. I  appreciate your hard work but I also feel bad for poor Linus. I fear the day that Linus retires because he can't take it anymore. Ask yourself if its worth it to grow financially and as a company if its going to put you on the spot of viewers/sponsors/employees all the time?

 

Sorry for being so touchy-feely and rehashing old, already addressed topics, but I just worry about the future of my favorite channel. Not it's success/growth, that's a given at this point, but its integrity and ingenuity. I was covered already when you agreed it was not ok and you will try to make sure this wont happen again, so I need to thank you for taking the time to discuss it in more depth, since you didn't have to.

[abazigal]

15 hours ago, LinusTech said:

Stuff

Hi Linus, 

 

Appreciate you taking the time to respond to this. 

 

When I read your response, it reminded me of the way I feel about Apple. When people criticise Apple for having lost their way, I think what they fail to appreciate is that the Apple of today is a lot larger and therefore has to serve a very different audience compared to 10 or even 20 years ago. As such, what worked for Apple back then may not suffice today. For example, you see Apple selling many different generations of iPhones to cater to as many price points as possible. This would have been unthinkable 10 years ago, but today, it's arguably a necessity if Apple is to report growth. 

 

Has Apple “lost its way”? Apple is slowly transitioning into a much more traditional company, and its behaviour will start to match those of a traditional company’s behaviour. Circumstances changed, and the company changed, and that’s just the way she goes.

 

I believe it's a similar scenario here. I recall the first video I watched being that of Linus being in Singapore to visit his in-laws and helping them to upgrade the internet connection in their house. I remember it striking home in so many ways (being Singaporean myself). Going to Sim Lim Square to shop for parts, realising that they were using Starhub (easily the worst Telco in terms of coverage), and just going out of way to wire up their house. I showed the video to my mom and she absolutely loved it, despite not knowing anything about tech. She knows you as the caucasian dude with an asian wife and (now) 3 kids. 

 

I don't watch all your videos, sometimes the jokes were just bad and I don't always agree with the content you put out (being an Apple user myself, your Apple product videos are an affront and an abomination, not least because you attempt to review them through the lens of a PC-builder enthusiast, which completely misses the mark, but whatever), but there was a genuine honesty, a certain warmth and a particular closeness I found in your videos that I am not really sensing these days. 

 

And the truth is that the Linus channel of today is a lot larger than many years back. It's painfully obvious that Linus cannot hope to subsist solely on youtube ad revenue, and as such, he has to take on a lot more sponsorship deals to pay the bills, and I guess that invariably changes the nature of the content he puts out. It's inevitable. 

 

At the end of the day, I don't think it's really anyone's fault. Perhaps in the process of growing, the direction in which the youtube channel is headed has changed and is no longer the same with what first drew me to your channel in the first place. Maybe the cost of acquiring newer subscribers and sponsors is the alienating of the original fan base. 

 

As I mentioned earlier above, circumstances changed, and the company changed, and that’s just the way she goes. Whichever the case, I do wish Linus all the best in his future endeavours and a blissful, happy family all the way. I think that's really the least we can do here - give Linus our best wishes and move on if we have to. Myself, he stays in my subscription feed, even if I am watching maybe ¼ to ⅓ of the content he pumps out at most?  

 

Just my 2 cents.  

[LinusTech]

6 hours ago, abazigal said:

Hi Linus, 

 

Appreciate you taking the time to respond to this. 

 

When I read your response, it reminded me of the way I feel about Apple. When people criticise Apple for having lost their way, I think what they fail to appreciate is that the Apple of today is a lot larger and therefore has to serve a very different audience compared to 10 or even 20 years ago. As such, what worked for Apple back then may not suffice today. For example, you see Apple selling many different generations of iPhones to cater to as many price points as possible. This would have been unthinkable 10 years ago, but today, it's arguably a necessity if Apple is to report growth. 

 

Has Apple “lost its way”? Apple is slowly transitioning into a much more traditional company, and its behaviour will start to match those of a traditional company’s behaviour. Circumstances changed, and the company changed, and that’s just the way she goes.

 

I believe it's a similar scenario here. I recall the first video I watched being that of Linus being in Singapore to visit his in-laws and helping them to upgrade the internet connection in their house. I remember it striking home in so many ways (being Singaporean myself). Going to Sim Lim Square to shop for parts, realising that they were using Starhub (easily the worst Telco in terms of coverage), and just going out of way to wire up their house. I showed the video to my mom and she absolutely loved it, despite not knowing anything about tech. She knows you as the caucasian dude with an asian wife and (now) 3 kids. 

 

I don't watch all your videos, sometimes the jokes were just bad and I don't always agree with the content you put out (being an Apple user myself, your Apple product videos are an affront and an abomination, not least because you attempt to review them through the lens of a PC-builder enthusiast, which completely misses the mark, but whatever), but there was a genuine honesty, a certain warmth and a particular closeness I found in your videos that I am not really sensing these days. 

 

And the truth is that the Linus channel of today is a lot larger than many years back. It's painfully obvious that Linus cannot hope to subsist solely on youtube ad revenue, and as such, he has to take on a lot more sponsorship deals to pay the bills, and I guess that invariably changes the nature of the content he puts out. It's inevitable. 

 

At the end of the day, I don't think it's really anyone's fault. Perhaps in the process of growing, the direction in which the youtube channel is headed has changed and is no longer the same with what first drew me to your channel in the first place. Maybe the cost of acquiring newer subscribers and sponsors is the alienating of the original fan base. 

 

As I mentioned earlier above, circumstances changed, and the company changed, and that’s just the way she goes. Whichever the case, I do wish Linus all the best in his future endeavours and a blissful, happy family all the way. I think that's really the least we can do here - give Linus our best wishes and move on if we have to. Myself, he stays in my subscription feed, even if I am watching maybe ¼ to ⅓ of the content he pumps out at most?  

 

Just my 2 cents.  

No need to speak about Linus in the third person. Still down to earth enough to man my own forum account

 

Anyway, your concerns are duly noted and I appreciate everyone in here being so honest without attacking me and my team personally. 

 

We WILL do better, and I promise we've got some really cool stuff coming - including a new season of Scrapyard Wars

[Canada EH]

On 5/21/2018 at 5:49 AM, Starelementpoke said:

money

yeaaaa im sure of that

[RollTime]

On 5/21/2018 at 11:41 AM, LAwLz said:

When you say "objective", do you mean unbiased?

I can see why some believe they are unbiased (I strongly believe they are heavily biased and conflict shy when suggesting products) but I can't for the life of me understand how someone can think they are objective. A huge portion of all of their videos are entirely subjective.

Just take the recent OnePlus video as an example. It was mostly a product overview rather than a review. Whenever he did review something about the phone (and by review I mean appraised something) it was almost entirely subjective. For example saying the screen looks good is subjective. This is what an objective (and in-depth) screen review looks like.

 

 

I don't think you understand how companies work. Again, LMG is not a charity which relies on the good will of their viewers to stay afloat. They are a business and the reason why they got all those employees, cameras, warehouse etc is so that they could produce more and better videos, which in turn should provide them with more money.

Imagine if people started justifying the loot boxes in Battlefront 2 by saying EA just bought a bunch of really expensive computers and employed some more people. That is what you're doing right now.

 

Again, you and I as viewers should not give two craps about their financial status or how they manage their budgets. What we should care about is the quality of work they deliver to us, their customers and viewers. If a company do not deliver the quality you expect, or start shifting the balance too much towards revenue at the expensive of customer satisfaction then I think people should complain. People should not take pity on companies and go "I don't like what they are doing but they need the money so I'll endure it". Again, LMG is a company, not a charity.

Just in reply- after watching that dumb HP video I am kind of in agreement with you. Also, if you're not on FP, they released an exclusive explaining their reasons for the sudden rush of sponsors (long story short some embargoes were adjusted).

[tusbiko]

 

Actually, I am employed by a selling earphone company, but being Linus tech fans first, haven't changed my own account. 

We also want to cooperate with Linus. But it's not easy. I think they will choose good products when they receive sponsorship. (It does not mean our company is not good) The product still needs the chance to show out. 

 

[Canada EH]

8 hours ago, tusbiko said:

I think they will choose good products

they choose who ever pays them

[Sir Asvald]

On 22/05/2018 at 7:51 PM, LinusTech said:

We WILL do better, and I promise we've got some really cool stuff coming - including a new season of Scrapyard Wars

When will it be out?